Children's exposure to mycotoxins and risk characterization using urinary biomarkers in São Paulo, Brazil

IF 7.3 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Pollution Pub Date : 2025-09-23 DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2025.127160

Sher Ali , Bruna Battaglini Franco , Vanessa Theodoro Rezende , Sana Ullah , Nida Wahab , Lucas Gabriel Dionisio Freire , Roice Eliana Rosim , Fernando Gustavo Tonin , Carlos Humberto Corassin , Luiz Antonio Del Ciampo , Ivan Savioli Ferraz , Carlos Augusto Fernandes de Oliveira

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Abstract

This study assessed mycotoxin exposure of preschoolers (3–6 years, n = 26), schoolers (7–10 years, n = 29), and adolescents (11–17 years, n = 49) from São Paulo, Brazil, by analyzing mycotoxin biomarkers in urine samples. Analyses were performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), for determination of aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁), ochratoxin A (OTA), fumonisins B₁ (FB₁) and B₂ (FB₂), deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 and HT-2 toxins, zearalenone (ZEN) and its metabolites α- and β-zearalenol (ZEL). Urinary ZEN and its metabolites (α- and β-ZEL) were the most frequently detected biomarkers, followed by FBs (FB₁+FB₂), DON, and OTA. Co-exposure to 2–6 mycotoxins was observed in 63 % of samples, most prominently among schoolers (69 %), followed by adolescents (63 %) and preschoolers (61 %). Estimated daily intake (EDI) values were calculated under lower (LB), middle (MB), and upper bound (UB) scenarios. Several 95th percentile UB-EDI values exceeded maximum level (ML) or tolerable daily intake (TDI) limits, particularly for preschoolers regarding exposure to AFM₁ (EDI: 0.786 μg/kg body weight (bw)/day), FBs (EDI: 5.22 μg/kg bw/day), OTA (EDI: 0.683 μg/kg bw/day) and the sum of ZEN, α- and β-ZEL (ZENeq) (0.92 μg/kg bw/day). Under the UB scenario, hazard quotient (HQ) values > 1 were found for OTA in 100 % of preschoolers (median: 1.71) and schoolers (1.4), and ZENeq in about 77 % of preschoolers (median: 1.14). Margin of exposure (MoE) values for AFM₁ were <10,000 across all age groups, indicating potential carcinogenic concern. These results underscore substantial real-life co-exposure to multiple mycotoxins in children in Brazil, reinforcing the need for age-specific surveillance and risk management strategies. The detection of multiple toxins above safety thresholds highlights the vulnerability of this population and the importance of strengthened food safety policies.

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巴西圣保罗儿童暴露于真菌毒素和使用尿液生物标志物的风险表征

本研究通过分析尿液样本中的霉菌毒素生物标志物，评估了巴西圣保罗学龄前儿童（3-6岁，n = 26）、小学生（7-10岁，n = 29）和青少年（11-17岁，n = 49）的霉菌毒素暴露情况。采用超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法（UPLC-MS/MS）测定黄曲霉毒素M1 （AFM1）、赭曲霉毒素A （OTA）、伏马毒素B1 （FB1）和B2 （FB2）、脱氧雪腐镰刀菌素醇（DON）、T-2和HT-2毒素、玉米赤霉烯酮（ZEN）及其代谢物α-和β-玉米赤霉烯醇（ZEL）。尿ZEN及其代谢产物（α-和β-ZEL）是最常检测到的生物标志物，其次是FBs （FB1+FB2）、DON和OTA。在63%的样本中观察到2-6种真菌毒素的共同暴露，最明显的是在校儿童（69%），其次是青少年（63%）和学龄前儿童（61%）。估计每日摄入量（EDI）值在下限（LB），中间（MB）和上限（UB）情况下计算。几个95百分位的uv -EDI值超过了最大水平（ML）或可耐受日摄入量（TDI）限制，特别是学龄前儿童暴露于AFM1 （EDI: 0.786 μg/kg体重(bw)/天）、FBs （EDI: 5.22 μg/kg体重/天）、OTA （EDI: 0.683 μg/kg体重/天）和ZEN、α-和β-ZEL （ZENeq）的总和（0.92 μg/kg体重/天）。在UB情景下，100%的学龄前儿童（中位数：1.71）和在校儿童（中位数：1.4）存在OTA的危害商（HQ）值>； 1，约77%的学龄前儿童（中位数：1.14）存在OTA的危害商（ZENeq）值。在所有年龄组中，AFM1的暴露边际（MoE）值为10,000，表明存在潜在的致癌风险。这些结果强调了巴西儿童在现实生活中大量共同暴露于多种真菌毒素，加强了针对特定年龄的监测和风险管理战略的必要性。超过安全阈值的多种毒素的检测突出了这一人群的脆弱性以及加强食品安全政策的重要性。

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来源期刊

Environmental Pollution 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

16.00

自引率

6.70%

发文量

2082

审稿时长

2.9 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Pollution is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality research papers and review articles covering all aspects of environmental pollution and its impacts on ecosystems and human health. Subject areas include, but are not limited to: • Sources and occurrences of pollutants that are clearly defined and measured in environmental compartments, food and food-related items, and human bodies; • Interlinks between contaminant exposure and biological, ecological, and human health effects, including those of climate change; • Contaminants of emerging concerns (including but not limited to antibiotic resistant microorganisms or genes, microplastics/nanoplastics, electronic wastes, light, and noise) and/or their biological, ecological, or human health effects; • Laboratory and field studies on the remediation/mitigation of environmental pollution via new techniques and with clear links to biological, ecological, or human health effects; • Modeling of pollution processes, patterns, or trends that is of clear environmental and/or human health interest; • New techniques that measure and examine environmental occurrences, transport, behavior, and effects of pollutants within the environment or the laboratory, provided that they can be clearly used to address problems within regional or global environmental compartments.